Yellow Poppies Workshop…..

April 10, 2018April 11, 2018 / Karen Lane / 10 Comments

Today was day one of the Yellow Poppies Workshop at Hemmingby Village Hall attended by nine enthusiastic ladies all keen to learn a new skill.

The morning was spent Wet Felting the backgrounds using three shades of Bergschaf wool. Once this was done the work was spun and put aside to dry while we had lunch.

This afternoon Lou and Jani chose to make additional pieces of felt to cut up to use as 3D flowers while the others got straight on with Needle Felting their flowers directly onto the background.

Tomorrow the ladies will continue embellishing their work with Needle Felting, couching, hand stitch and free machine embroidery.

Forest Floor Workshop…..

April 9, 2018June 12, 2025 / Karen Lane / 14 Comments

Last Saturday I travelled back up to one of my favourite workshop venues, the Simply Stitch studio in East Keswick. It was for the first of a new class I’ve put together which I’m calling my Forest Floor Workshop.

12 ladies took part in the two day workshop exploring the use of heat manipulative materials including Tyvek fabric, Tyvek paper, Lutradur and polyester fabrics which we painted, stitched, cut and distressed using heat tools and soldering irons. For the majority it would be the first time they have worked with any of these materials and tools.

Our theme for the weekend was the forest floor and it was great to see that some of the ladies, like Juliet and Julie, had been out foraging for inspiration!

The samples that were created included a variety of leaves, bark, twigs, lichen, etc…..anything you might see on a walk through the woods, and a few things you might never see too!!

Carolyn arrived with her hand heavily bandaged and the intention of just watching the others. That idea lasted all of a few minutes and she turned out to be one of the most prolific sample makers of the group!

Janet and Jackie were looking very proud of their hessian and Lutradur “twigs” and rightly so!!

The ladies threw themselves whole heartedly into experimenting with the various materials and created some wonderful pieces of work with fabulous textures.

Once again a big thank you to Nicola for being such a great host and to all of the ladies who took part. I’m looking forward to seeing some of you again when I return to East Keswick in June.

Tyvek Leaf…..

March 19, 2018 / Karen Lane / 9 Comments

Today’s workshop was for four lovely ladies from the Nottingham area. Freda and her friends had seen my Tyvek Leaf on Pinterest and got in touch to say they fancied having a go at making one for themselves.

Trisha and Carol

Freda and Pat

Non of them had used Tyvek previously so we looked at the various colouring mediums that can be applied, discussed the difference between the paper and fabric versions and saw how each reacted to heat.

With lots of chatting and laughter (hearing us from the hallway my other half swears I put something illegal in the homemade soup!) the day was gone before we knew it!

Work in progress

Each of the ladies produced some wonderful work which they will mount on their chosen papers and put in a box frame once they get home.

Thanks to all for being such eager students….I’m already looking forward to hosting you again on your return visit for Feltmaking!

Wall Hangings and Vessels…..

March 11, 2018March 11, 2018 / Karen Lane / 15 Comments

A quick catch up on the past week’s workshops which included wall hangings and vessels…..

Wednesday saw me driving back down to Podehole for the second session of my Wet Felted Wall Hanging workshop with the Spalding Embroiderers. Last month the ladies created their wet felted backgrounds and added some needle felted flowers. This week they concentrated on embellishing their work with hand stitching…..unfortunately they are not permitted to use their sewing machines in this particular hall which is something I’ve never come across before!

One or two of the ladies had done some homework since we last met and added free machine stitching. This is just a small sample of the wonderful work being produced…..

Once again it was a pleasure to work with such an enthusiastic bunch of ladies and as you can see from the photos the standard of work is terrific! I’m already looking forward to my return visit in September when we will be experimenting with Lutradur and Tyvek to produce a forest floor themed 3D picture.

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In the studio this week I had a visit from Annie and Marisa. Neither of these ladies had ever felted around a resist before but both were keen to have a go. They certainly rose to the challenge and produced two wonderful wet felted Merino bowls with multicoloured necks and embellished surfaces……

On Saturday I was given even more of a challenge when Sue, with daughters Adele and Sharon, visited the studio. They had said they wanted to make 3D vessels but made it very clear from the outset that they weren’t prepared to settle for something straight forward or easy. They were only interested in making complex 3D shapes, the sort that require a book resist or differential shrinkage. When you consider that none of these ladies had ever done Wet Felting, either 2D or 3D, prior to this visit what they achieved in 6 hours was pretty amazing!

Bergschaf Clutch Bag…..

February 17, 2018June 12, 2025 / Karen Lane / 8 Comments

Today I was back at the Simply Stitch studio in East Keswick to deliver a wet felting workshop for owner Nicola Hulme and ten ladies who were there to make their version of my Irit Dulman inspired Bergschaf Clutch Bag.

Mottled Irit Dulman inspired clutch bag

Two-tone Irit Dulman inspired clutch bag.

For at least two of the ladies this would be their first introduction to Felting around a resist.

I know that if I chose the colours and put together specific kits and made students follow my instructions to the letter we would all be done in the time allowed and be taking home a finished item………..but I can’t do that! The last thing I want is for everyone to take home the same item!

When I deliver a workshop I like to encourage students to make the piece their own and this means allowing time to think, discuss options and take risks…..this morning was no exception!

As a result the ladies have all worked flat-out and produced a bag which is unique to them. They are almost but not quite finished. When I get photos of the completed work I will post an update.

Thanks to Nicola for hosting the workshop and keeping us all in coffee and biscuits and to all the ladies who took part….including Janet who managed to run away and hide when I took the final photo! Hope to see you all again.

Experimenting with Nuno Felting…..

February 16, 2018April 13, 2018 / Karen Lane / 11 Comments

Yesterday I was teaching in Risley, just outside of Derby, working with a creative group of ladies called “Material Girls”. They had invited me over to spend the day with them experimenting with Nuno Felting.

The ladies all brought a selection of lightweight fabrics ranging from pure silk, viscose and muslin through to polyester and netting as well as Merino fibres. The idea was for this to be an experimental session making samples which could later be stitched and framed, making a unique piece of textile art.

The results were absolutely stunning! Depending on the choice of fabrics this process can be very time and labour intensive and therefore I was a little concerned as to the staying power of my group! I needn’t have worried….there was a lot of coffee, biscuits, laughter and determination to keep us going and the results really paid off.

Once their work was finished the ladies used picture mounts to select certain area which appealed to them for stitching. Non of this fabric will get wasted as even small off cuts can be used for making brooches or used in card making, mixed media work, etc…..

Once again, it was a pleasure to work with a group of like minded ladies and be able to share my enthusiasm and passion for Feltmaking and Textiles. Many thanks to Viv and Jenny for arranging my visit and helping to make the day a success. I look forward to seeing you all again sometime.

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A quick update on the pictures made at this workshop and a big thanks to Anne who has sent me photos of the two pictures she made from her Nuno samples. Just a little stitching is all it took to transform the fabrics into beautiful landscapes…..

Wet Felted Fish…..

February 11, 2018February 11, 2018 / Karen Lane / 15 Comments

Last week I did a one-one Workshop for Alison who wanted to learn how to make a wet felted fish. This wasn’t to be any old fish, Alison made it quite clear that she was on a mission to create a Wrasse as part of a local community project. I’d never heard of a Wrasse so immediately turned to Google to see what it was we were aiming for. I discovered that there are over six hundred species of this fish with two being native to the British Isles, the Ballan Wrasse and it’s more colourful cousin, the Cuckoo Wrasse.

We decided to work with a combination of Bergschaf and Merino fibres. This was the first time Alison has Felted around a resist but she took to it like a fish to water (I had to get that in somewhere!)

This is how he looked once Alison had got him home and dried out, prior to embellishing…..

…..and this is the finished Wrasse complete with hand embroidery and an impressive set of dentures! Isn’t he handsome! Well done Alison, can’t wait to see what you make next!

Beginners Workshop in Wet Felting…..

February 10, 2018February 13, 2018 / Karen Lane / 14 Comments

Today saw me driving down to Colemans Craft Warehouse in Rushden, Northamptonshire to deliver a beginners workshop in Wet Felting. Colemans is a large out of town, retail outlet crammed with all manner of crafting equipment and materials including card making, stamping, fabrics, Felting, beading, knitting, etc. There is a cafe area on the ground floor while the spacious, well lit workshop area is on the mezzanine above the sales floor.

There were nine ladies taking part in the workshop and for all of them this would be their first introduction to Wet Felting. We began by discussing the basics of creating a piece of flat felt and everyone made an abstract sample using Merino fibres and adding snippets of yarn, fabric and silks.

Above are the pieces prior to Felting (apologies for the one that’s missing) and below are the pieces after Felting.

After lunch the ladies were given a choice. They could either make a picture, using the skills they had learnt earlier, or they could learn another laying out technique and make a flower. It was quite spooky how one side of the table chose the picture while the other side chose the flower…..I hadn’t realised the split until I looked at this photo!

The results were wonderful…..

The ladies all said how much they had enjoyed the day and all of them are keen to do more Wet Felting which is terrific to hear. Colemans have invited me back to do another Wet Felting workshop for them on Saturday 14th April so I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and hopefully some new ones too. Next time we will be creating felted landscapes and learning how to incorporate pre felts in our work.

Many thanks to Jo and the staff at Colemans for making me welcome and to my enthusiastic students!

Wet Felting at Withern…..

January 27, 2018 / Karen Lane / 24 Comments

I’ve discovered an unexpected benefit of running local workshops……I’m discovering villages in Lincolnshire that I didn’t know existed! Today I was at Withern Village Hall, deep in the Lincolnshire Wolds for the first time ever, with seven ladies from the local textile and art groups.

The workshop was to be an introduction to Felting so we began by laying out our Merino fibres and fancy yarns and then wet felting our backgrounds.

After lunch we did some needle felting, adding detail to the work, and then the ladies chose to either machine or hand embroider to further embellish their pictures. I love the tiny bees on Kay’s picture!

There is still a little work left to do before all of the pieces are finished but I’m sure you will agree they are all looking great! Thanks for inviting me to Withern, and for being such an enthusiastic group! It was a very enjoyable day and I hope to see some of you again soon.

Wet Felted Wall Hanging…..

January 16, 2018January 16, 2018 / Karen Lane / 16 Comments

A quick post to show how Alison and Yvonne have got on with making their beautiful versions of my Yellow Poppies wet felted wall hanging today.

Alison was quite at home with the free machine stitching while for Yvonne it was her first attempt and she admitted that she had got on far better than she thought she would. Just the mention of free machining sends some folk into a state of panic but with a few basic pointers I find most people overcome the dread and start to enjoy it.